Cardinals' Kliff Kingsbury Ready for Patriots, Belichick: 'Honor to Match Wits'

With his coaching career at a potential breaking point, former New England Patriots quarterback Kliff Kingsbury will face Bill Belichick Monday night in Arizona.

Fortunately for Gillette Stadium, the New England Patriots' Monday night showdown against the Arizona Cardinals (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN) will be played in Glendale. The facility probably can't handle the return of another turn-of-the-century breakout quarterback who set numerous passing records during his cherished tenure.

Granted, Kliff Kingsbury's resume - at least from a Foxboro rather than Lubbock perspective -  doesn't hold a spark, much less a candle, to Tom Brady's. But he has embarked upon a lively gridiron experience since bursting onto the national scene as Texas Tech's quarterback in 2000. After an accomplished collegiate career as the Red Raiders' busy quarterback (holding several program and national high-marks), Kingsbury has worked on and led the staffs of several collegiate and professional teams, a stretch that has brought him to his current duties as the head coach of the Cardinals.

The NFL portions of Kingsbury's journey began on the field when he was the Patriots' sixth-round pick in the 2003 draft. Brady's durable rise to further glory ensured that Kingsbury remained on the bench. He was eventually removed from the roster after the 2004 preseason, losing Brady backup duties to Rohan Davey and Jim Miller, beginning a nomadic playing career that also went through New Orleans, Denver, New York, Cologne, Buffalo, Montreal, and Winnipeg. 

Yet, Kingsbury admitted in the lead-up to Monday's game that his time in New England, namely his chance to witness the inner machinations of a Bill Belichick-run offense, left an impression upon him. 

“I think it was such an eye-opener, what he has put into this game and to do it at that level for that long," Kingsbury said, per Donnie Druin of All Cardinals. "I’d been around some great coaches. My dad was a high school coach. But just to watch the processes they had in New England from kind of behind the veil was incredible."

Kingsbury spent all of his rookie season on injured reserve but that ailment gave him the time to watch how Belichick worked his magic. For his efforts, he was able to earn a Super Bowl ring despite his sidelining, as Belichick's sorcery eventually yielded a win over the Carolina Panthers in the game's 38th edition.

"It was a crash course in football, and I learned more in the time there than the rest of my life put together probably," Kingsbury recalled. "It’s a football 101 for anybody who’s been through that program, coaches, players, anybody. To see him still doing it and the level he’s doing it at is just incredible."

Kingsbury might have to remember and channel nearly every secret he learned from Belichick to keep his NFL status: few of the NFL's 32 head coaching seats are hotter than the one in Arizona (4-8), where the Cardinals have been defined by underachievement after a 7-0 start last season. A win over Belichick's Patriots (6-6), a team fighting for its postseason life on the AFC side, would certainly help his case to stay.

The Arizona boss downplayed the value a victory over his mentor would have, on both a team and personal level, remarking that it's rewarding enough to face off against Belichick in a battle of lead headsets.

"It’s just an honor to go against him. It’s really humbling," Kingsbury said. "It’s one of those deals where it’s like you’d almost be embarrassed because he’s such a great coach. He knows so much about football. He’s coached every position, he’s the best to ever do it. It’s more of just an honor to go against him and try to match wits with him, if you will, at times.”

This will be the second meeting between the New England-based master and apprentice, with the Patriots prevailing via game-winning field goal in a November 2020 showdown in Foxboro. 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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